Louisiana Parents, Students, Educators and State Leaders to Celebrate National School Choice Week

Parents, students, and educators will join state and community leaders to celebrate school choice across Louisiana. School choice celebrations in New Orleans and Monroe coincide with the history-making celebration of National School Choice Week 2019 (January 20 – 26), which will feature more than 40,000 school choice events across all 50 states.

“National School Choice Week is an ideal opportunity to showcase the wide array of school choice options available to Louisiana families,” said Ann Duplessis, President of the Louisiana Federation for Children.

Duplessis continued, “Whether the option is public charter schools, Louisiana Scholarship Program, Tuition Donation Credit Program, Supplemental Course Academy (formerly Course Choice), homeschooling or traditional public schools; it is important that parents have the option to choose the best education option for their children.”

Organizations participating in Louisiana’s celebration of National School Choice Week include Ace Scholarships, Council for a Better Louisiana, Louisiana Association of Business and Industry, Louisiana Association of Public Charter Schools, Louisiana Federation for Children and Pelican Institute for Public Policy.

Louisiana’s Celebration of National School Choice Week

Wednesday, January 23
NSCW Community Leaders Breakfast and School Tour
The Good Shepherd School
1839 Agriculture St
New Orleans, LA 70119
10:00 a.m. – Noon

Thursday, January 24
Louisiana Celebrates School Choice
Our Lady of Fatima School
3202 Franklin Street Monroe, LA 71201
4:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m. 

School Choice in Louisiana

  • Charter Schools:Charter schools are independent public schools that are free to be more innovative and are held accountable for improved student achievement. More than 80,000 students attend 156 charter schools in 25 parishes across Louisiana.
  • The Louisiana Scholarship Program is designed to provide students with additional opportunities to attend the school of their choice. Student applicants are eligible to receive state-funded scholarships to enroll in participating nonpublic schools. To be eligible for a scholarship, students must have a family income that does not exceed 250% of the federal poverty line and must either be entering kindergarten or be enrolled in a public school with a C, D, or F letter grade.
  • The Tuition Donation Credit Program empowers Louisiana families with the financial resources to choose the school that best prepares their child for college and careers. This program, established by the Louisiana Legislature, authorizes School Tuition Organizations (STOs) to collect and use taxpayer donations to provide scholarships to students that meet the program’s income requirements to attend nonpublic schools. All School Tuition Organizations are tax-exempt, not-for-profit organizations with 501(c)(3) status. Taxpayers earn a credit toward their Louisiana state taxes for the year in which they make a donation.
  • The School Choice Program for Certain Students with Exceptionalities provides families with tuition assistance to attend eligible participating schools that offer special needs programs. Students wishing to attend a nonpublic school in parishes with a population of 190,000 or more are eligible for this program, which includes Caddo, Calcasieu, East Baton Rouge, Jefferson, Lafayette, Orleans and St. Tammany parishes.
  • Louisiana’s Supplemental Course Academy gives school districts and other public schools an MFP allocation related to the cost of high school credit courses. It is individualized to the needs of secondary students and is provided outside the traditional secondary school.
  • The Louisiana Jump Start program, funded by Supplemental Course Allocation (SCA), offers high school students the opportunity to engage in work-based learning or job shadowing with the state’s top industry partners and earn a wage during the summer months.

National School Choice Week (January 20 – 26, 2019) recognizes all K-12 options, including traditional public schools, public charter schools, public magnet schools, private schools, online academies, and homeschooling.

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